KIEV, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament appointed Stepan Kubiv, a member of parliament with experience in banking, as the new chairman of the central bank.

A total of 310 deputies in the 450 seat chamber backed Kubiv after his predecessor, Ihor Sorkin, resigned following the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich as Ukraine's president.

"I promise ... the transparency of the National Bank. We want to say that Ukraine is a huge market, it is a platform for investments," Kubiv, 51, who was born and lives in western Ukraine, told the parliament after the appointment.

Kubiv headed several commercial banks before he was elected to the parliament. He is a member of the Batkivshchyna party headed by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's bitter rival.

Earlier on Monday Ukraine appealed for urgent international help to stop the economy "heading into the abyss" after the fall of Russian-backed president doubt on a bailout deal with Moscow.

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov raised the possibility of Kiev defaulting on its debt, and said the country needed $35 billion over the next two years.